Abstract

The experimental open pound herring roe-on-kelp
(ROK) fishery was studied in San Francisco Bay from
the second week of December 1988 through the third
week of February 1989.
Three spawning runs were fished successfully by
four operations consisting of six permittees. A
total of 47.1 tons of herring ROK was packed this
season.
Giant kelp, Macrocystis sp., was harvested from the
Santa Barbara Channel Islands and trucked to San
Francisco for hanging on the pounds. Sources of
high-quality giant kelp in California were
difficult to locate this season because of
unfavorable oceanographic conditions during the
winter months.
ROK was sampled at each shoreside processing
facility. There were no significant differences in
ROK blade measurements or roe densities among the
permittees. ROK densities ranged from 0.250 to
0.699 g/cm2.
Plastic totes containing processed ROK averaged
1756 lbs total gross weight. Totes contained an
average of 42.3% ROK by weight.
Siltation of ROK harvested in south San Francisco
Bay continued to be a problem. High winds damaged
rafts in December 1988. Gear conflicts were
reported between ROK and herring roe permittees. (25pp.)